Disgusting

They wasted hours of my life chasing the holy grail of recordings -the same recording that led to David Palmer's and Michele's murder (plus a ton of other stuff) only to have a random C list character magically destroy it in like 10s.

No.. not again!!!

How to prolong what is going to happen anyway? So.. it looks like Jack is in danger as they are going to shot down the plain but he manages to make a landing.. and what kind of landing.. the look on the pilot's face.. the animation.. the whole plain landing thing.. visually impressive.

So.. Jack gets to CTU and we not only have great news that Jack is out of the danger and with the recording in CTU.. but Audrey's father survived and is in ICU.. what a great news..

And it all looks like Logna has it's end.. but no.. on the last second a new opportunity offers himself and the last scene promises that the recording got compromised..

I think it's safe to say this season is freakin' sweet

Heller's alive. Cop-out!
But the other stuff is killer. From Jack's jillionth bout of death-cheating to an uncharacteristically dark final act, it's high sailing. Jack's got the recording, but now he must land the plane before Logan can shoot it down. The first two acts concentrate on an emergency landing on the highway, which is one of the most absurd and preposterous sequences I've seen in a while, maybe even THE most. I frickin' love it.
The rest of the hour is mostly low-key. Naturally, Jack slips past the military perimeter and gets back to CTU. It's one thing that I love about this season; the writers just stopped trying to top themselves with threats. And they bring up/utilize other stuff that's happened in the season, like the martial law curfew.
With no way out, Logan decides to take his own life. This sequence is accompanied by some really, REALLY creepy music that I must applaud. Would I consider Logan's suicide a good ending for the season? Sure! But it's not 7:00 AM yet, so Logan magically does have a way out. Cue your grumbling now.
Despite the fact that Miles' actions in the last minute render Jack's actions in the last five hours utterly useless (whereas a similar event in S2 still left Jack with a lead), I'll forgive the cheap and lazy writing because this hour overall is a true standout of S5's second half. Given the quality of said second half, that's saying something.

Hourly Highlight:
The landing. Statistically, it's still the safest way to travel.

A good episode marred with a major contrivance to lengthen the plot through the end of the season.

This episode brings this season to a difficult crossroad. Jack has the evidence implicating Logan and is in the clear to bringing him down. The only problem is that there are still three episodes left in the season, so the writers had to come up with a way to send Jack two steps back again. Unfortunately, the contrivance at the end hurts what was otherwise a really good hour.

That contrivance is Miles erasing the only copy of the incriminating recording. The most common nitpick of this episode is why does no one ever think of making a copy or play the recording over one of the secure lines to more people. Chloe could certainly handle turning that into an MP3 file. This is more frustrating because only a few lines could’ve explained why they didn’t copy the recording. Something about how a duplicate couldn’t be completely verified would’ve worked well. But such an explanation doesn’t exist, which makes the characters appear dumb for the sake of the story, which hinders the characterization.

There is some really good stuff in this episode, particularly the first half with Graham contriving a reason to justify shooting down the plane while Jack and the CTU A-Team try to find a make shift landing strip. While it may be absurd that the plane managed to stop just before crashing into the overpass, it’s still riveting to watch (plus crashing into an overpass would be awfully expensive to stage) because “24” requires that suspension of disbelief.

With the evidence in Jack’s hand, Logan is trapped, and that has him considering suicide as a way out of a long embarrassing trial and implicating Graham and his co-horts. Logan committing suicide would be an appropriate way to end this tragic figure. However, there are three episodes left, and to kill him off now would be anticlimactic. Plus, he really needs to suffer, as Martha said earlier.

Novick in the last hours has been privy to a lot of suspicious behavior from Logan that you wonder why no one has gotten him involved in the counter conspiracy sooner, especially considering his relationship with David Palmer. Logan’s insistence on shooting down the plane is just another in an on going series of tells that something is deeply wrong with this picture.

Heller surviving is a relief, but I wonder why they decided to keep him alive. The bigger question is why no one at the Presidential compound has found out about what happened to him. The Secretary of Defense plunging into a lake should shake everyone, and validate those who know something is wrong.

Bierko was kept alive for a reason. Clearly, his gesture to the van driver foreshadows the entire escort team getting killed and him breaking out for one more thrill before season's end. I can't wait to see how Bierko and a potential strike will figure paired alongside the conspiracy. Perhaps Bierko's ultimate role will be the one to bring down the conspiracy with the tape destroyed. But how did one of Bierko’s allies happen to be the guy driving the transport? This could simply be another distraction to keep CTU from getting too close to the conspiracy.

Miles is certainly the least likeable agent CTU’s ever seen. Although he’s been a yes-man to Karen and claims his allegiances are solid, he goes against that by covertly helping Logan cover his back. Obviously, Karen keeping him out was a mistake, but would he have been willing to follow along had he known the truth earlier? Karen’s following is clear after some of Logan’s questionable actions, but Jack playing the recording for her would’ve given her a bit more ground to act the way she has, even though she admits she’s trying to remain skeptical.

Since this is the 21st episode and everyone is getting ready to unfurl the “Mission Accomplished” banner, there were going to be setbacks to halt the celebration. The only problem is that the ending underwrites the intelligence of the characters by not giving them any reason not to do what the audience thinks would be a logical contingency plan.

Review

This was one of the best episodes of 24 I have ever seen. The scene where Jack and the co pilot land the plane were great and sneaking the recording back to CTU was awesome. Presidant Logans plan to kill himself was something I think he wlll wind up doing, however with the evidance destroyed (?) I think he will wait until CTU manages to get some other kind of evidance against him. I liked Jacks scene with Audrey in this episode, having Jack be happy for 15 minutes isnt too bad after all/ I hope they can keep on going strong into season 6, but Audrey only has a recurring role there.

Insulting to your intelligence

I have never felt compelled to review any TV episode before usually preferring to just read other peoples views and some I agree with and some I don't. However after reading the reviews for this episode I feel I must contribute, I cannot believe that this episode seems to be receiving praise all round. Remember the days when 24 was an innovative show that left you wondering how on earth they were going to manage to reach a conclusion within just 24 hours. Well not anymore, now they are needlessly dragging out a tedious plot with characters that are nowhere near as interesting as the orignal cast. Gone are all the likeable characters from CTU (Tony, Michelle, Kim), gone are the people we actually cared about in office (the Palmers.) And in their place are a bunch of people with so little personality (with the exception of Chloe) its unbelievable. I have watched this series up to the point in the knowledge that it was not a match for previous series but was vaguely entertaining when compared to most other TV shows. I watched as they killed off all the characters I and most other people I know who watch 24 liked in a series of frankly stupid plot twists, I watched despite the fact most of the people involved in the show are so unconvincing its terrifying (the president), I even watched as Chloe got herself some stupid theme music everytime she appeared for a few episodes. But the last few minutes of this episode were too much for me. Dragging it out like this is just insulting to your intelligence. Basically they have run out of storyline after 20 hours so they are just trying to come up with any old nonsense to drag it out for another few weeks.

The UK thinks 24 is awesome!

I have to illegally download every episode as I am in London, UK and were only on Episode 15 here. It was great when I went to Whistler Skiing in January, and got to watch it on FOX at the same time as everyone else for a change.

I watched the Season Finale 24hrs after everyone else, as it took a day to find the download and download them both.

What can I say?

Amazing! I have been a lover of 24 ever since I borrowed the Season 1 box set from a friend and watched the whole season in 3 days! It wasn’t well publicised in the UK so I had never heard of it, but since then I have never looked back.

My 5-a-side mid-week soccer team is called CTU United and we all have CTU tops with the name BAUER and number 24 on the back. We often find the opposition shouting out one liners such as \"what is your primary objective\" and \"stop I\'m a federal agent\".

Since watching the 1st season, I have downloaded every episode without fail every week, and watched it between 24 and 48 hrs behind the USA.

My cousin, who alongside me is an avid fan has been working the ski season in Whistler, Canada from October 2005 to May 2006 and has been watching them a day ahead of me every week and it\'s been hard to take.

Every Monday morning at around 6am when I am getting ready for work, I received a text message on my phone from him telling me how good the episode was that he just saw. It used to really annoy me and there was nothing I could do about it!

I don’t know if you realise how hard it is, to know you can read up what happens in the episode on TV.com before you see it. It\'s so hard to not look; you have no idea!

Spare a thought for us UK folk, who get the programmes you watch months later on TV here. I have downloaded all episodes of Lost, Prison Break and The Unit (Palmer will always be Palmer to me) and it takes ages. Prison Break is 15 episodes behind in the UK, Lost Season 2 has just started as season 2 is ending in the USA and The Unit hasn’t even been mentioned. That’s not to mention The Shield, and various other US shows I download in my spare time/work time lol.

Anyway, thank god for the internet and a high speed connection.

Right, back to 24…

What an amazing finale and will Season 6 follow directly from Season 5. This has never happened before has it!?!

I can’t believe the Chinese have him, although it was obvious it was going to happen sooner rather than later. But people, I have to clap the people involved with 24. You are all legends, and I am not sure which awards people count as important in the US, but they should win them all!

How much do you wish Keiffer was your dad!

As for characters, may I say special thanks to those dearly beloveds who are no longer with us…

David Palmer
Michelle Dessler
Tony Almeida
Edgar Stiles
The Hobbit

Even the losses we have encountered in previous season’s…

Ryan Chapelle
Mrs Bauer

Etc etc etc…

May you all rest in peace!

So, what’s going to happen in Season 6? There are so many questions which will remain unanswered until January. I don’t think I can wait that long!

1. What do the Chinese want with Jack?
2. Will Audrey finally die?
3. Who’s going to be the president?
4. Will Jack work for the Chinese?
5. Will Aaron Pierce get stuck into the 1st lady?
6. Will Mike get new glasses?
7. Will Kim get rid of the idiot with the facial hair?
8. Will Buchanan get with the woman from Homeland?

Who knows?

These questions will all remain unanswered for some time. I cannot wait.

But I have one question which remains unanswered…maybe you can help me?

In Season 4, when the President got shot down, was that all part of the plan to kill him, and put Logan in charge to prepare for what happened in Season 5?

That maybe me just getting a little carried away but maybe not. I am learning with these US shows that you must always think about them and try and be one step ahead.

Like in Lost; I can’t believe Sawyers parents’ murderer (the con-man) was Locke’s dad (previously seen as a con-man). This is of course yet to be confirmed, but will be the case.

Anyway, back to 24…Amazing. Jack you are a legend!

Much love and if anyone ever wants a chat about any of the above, just drop me an email… mark@wizardmedical.com

I loved this episode. **NO SPOILERS** - unless you haven't seen this episode.

This episode is really good. Even though not much happened, it is clear that this is all setting up for a BIG season finale.

I loved the plane landing scene... very well filmed... Also very similar to the plane landing on SWAT (Colin Farrel, Samual L. Jackson), which also featured Jude Ciccolella who was in the plan.

Life seems to be going well for Audry at the moment, so I am expecting her arm to be cut off or something else tragic happen to her.... Although she won't die. We have already seen Jack's lover die in the finale (Season 1, Teri). Clearly when Jack said "It's all over", it is only just begining.....!!!

Is this storyline with the evidence remind anyone with Season 2? I think that Jack will be arrested or something once Karen and Co. realise that the tape is blank. I am dying for the season finale, and I desperatly await the 22nd of May!!!!!!!!!

My thoughts and predictions

I have to say compared to the previous season this one may be the worst. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoy season 5 (somewhat) but it definitely doesn’t live up to the standards set by seasons 1-4. And I think it goes to show the producers that bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better. What I mean by that is the bigger the “shocker” doesn’t mean a better season… ie - a former president assassinated, the release of toxic never gas in a mall, an assassination attempt on the Russian President along with his wife and the United State’s first lady, and all of it being orchestrated by the President of the United States and some “New World Order”.

But as for my predictions:

#1 – Henderson will not be killed – Jack will struggle with no killing him and eventually he’ll go to prison. Where I’m sure at some point he’ll be back in future seasons.

#2 – The N.W.O. will find a way to “remove” President Logan from office while planting the seed for his replacement to be another one of their pawns for future seasons.

#3 – Audrey will turn – I think they are setting us up to really trust Audrey, but in the end the shocker will be she was behind a lot of today’s events.

#4 – (this is a real stretch) – President Palmer is not dead – by him figuring that something was coming he staged his death to go into hiding until the “trouble passes”

The awesomeness of Jack Bauer continues....

24 has always continued to impress me through it's suspenseful action. As much as I hate the whole President Logan being behind it all, I still like how President Logan played it cool in front of Mike Norvick and extremely confusing him was great after President Logan ordered the US Marines aircraft to shoot down the plane, Jack Bauer saving the plane showed another coolness side of Jack Bauer and why he's awesome, and one more great thing happened in this episode... Bierko is back! Bierko is the main real reason why I have been enjoying season 5 in the first place and after they took him out and showed he was just a puppet of President Logan, I sort of started doubting season 5 but now that, Bierko is back there's still hope. The only thing that bothered me about this episode was that the greatest thing to President Logan was about to happen when he was about to do something drastic right before that idiot, Miles, saved him. Honestly, I'm really begging Jack Bauer to interrogate him to death or atleast have President Logan or the powerful New World Order or whatever they are shoot Miles in order to cover the evidence. I really hate that guy. But, Bierko being back is what made this episode even better. I hope Bierko finds President Logan and kills him..

Even bad episodes of "24" top most network television, and while this one wasn't bad, it baffled me how Jack could have failed to take a simple precaution that would have avoided what happened in the last scene.

Of course, I'm talking about the recording that Jack risked his life and the lives of the passengers on the plane to retrieve and why he didn't just play the recording for CTU. In fact, why not call the local radio station and play it for them too? Why not call Dan Rather and play it for him? Why not play it for Chloe and have her upload it to a dozen internet sites? Once the recording in the public domain, Logan is done. Jack is uncannily smart, a lot more so than I am, so if I came up with that, why couldn't Jack?

There are other implausibilities, such as why CTU had to move Bierko to another facility at 3 a.m. in the morning when martial law is in effect and how CTU seems to be a sieve when it comes to infiltrators. God help us if our real security agencies are as easily pierced by our enemies.

So, anyone want to guess how it all ends? Here goes mine. The tape recording is gone, thanks to Miles's treachery, but Logan will go down thanks to the combined efforts of the back from the dead James Heller, Aaron Pierce, and Martha. Henderson will have to meet with death in some fashion, probably at Jack's hands, since there's no way the killer of Tony Almeda is getting out of this season alive. Bierko will be killed too, but the chessmasters who are manipulating the day's events will live to fight another season.

Of course, the fun is not in guessing WHAT happens as much as it is watching HOW it happens. Should be a captivating final three hours.

I can sum up what was best about this episode in two words: Gregory Itzin.

As several reviewers have noted, the plane scenes were riveting -- although Jack's too-easy escape from the scene was a bit of a let-down.

The best scenes in the episodes all featured Gregory Itzin as President Charles Logan. The man is a fantastic actor. As contemptible as his character is, I felt real pity for the man as he prepared to take his own life. Perhaps because the office looms so large in the American imagination, there is great inherent drama in the notion of a president taking his own life -- and something enraging, because so deeply counter-democratic, in the notion of his taking his own life at the direction of some shadowy, unelected operative. Itzin, to his credit, added to this inherent drama and made the scenes with the gun and the whisky positively gripping.

The swerve at the end, with Miles intervening to give President Logan a second chance, was brilliant. Not only was it unexpected, but it made considerable sense once revealed. In one stroke, Miles gained enormous leverage over Logan and preserved Logan in office so that Logan would have the power to reciprocate. The dark underside of this swerve is the ease with which Miles executed his plan. The idea that the digital recording should have changed hands several times without having been copied and uploaded more than once to the PDAs of Bauer allies is absurd.

Here's hoping Logan finds a way to stay in office. Bauer-vs-Logan-and-Graham could be a promising multi-season story arc.

Pretty good episode, and the plane scenes were very exciting!!!

Seems I was wrong about Miles. I assumed all along he was a part of the plot with the president, but it seems he was not, but now he is sticking his nose in the situation. Miles is all bent out of shape that Karen did not include him in the whole Jack has the recording issue, and ends up taking matters into his own hands and erasing the information. Now my question is why didn’t they put Chole in a room, and have her guarded so no one unauthorized could get in? They had the information needed, and just like that they lose it!!!

The scenes with Jack on the plane were nail biting, and had me on the edge of my seat. When the plane landed I was still yelling, because it looked like the planes wings were going to hit the bridge. Then when Jack manages to get away, again a nail biter!!! Those were some good scenes. I knew Audrey’s father was not dead!! I knew it!!!

When Logan was going to kill himself, I got really angry that he would take the punk way out, but by the end of the episode I wished he had killed himself!!! Especially after Miles called him, I was like oh please, just shoot yourself!! I’m not happy that Martha has resorted to being her depressed docile self. I wanted her to find some kind of way to leave, or better yet, can she simply pull the trigger on her husband? Please!!! I can’t stand Logan (which of course makes the show good, having that character you love to hate).

Bierko knows the driver, so I can say there will be some grand escape. The only way to get rid of him is to simply kill him!!!

Tense and exciting episode that leaves the viewer screaming, clutching and gasping for more. We're nearing the finale.

Good episode, the scenes with Logan were amazing with the music and atmosphere. Jack's line to Audrey was great about it being "all over now".

Miles smile when the President said he aproved, such a weasal. Cant belive he's screwed over the recording, where do they go from here? Apparently next week Bierko becomes a threat once more, and Henderson and Aaron Pierce have been credited for next week. Should set up the last two hours and unviel how the hell the writers are thinking of tieing up all the loose ends.

Back to this week its nice to see the music returning to its brilliant heights. Logans scenes were extremly powerfull and ominous, one second making the viewer feel sorrow for him and the next hatred. I was shocked to see the extent of Miles betrayal, I can't see where they can go next to prove Logan's guilt. The plane scenes were good and Jack's escape satisfyingly stylish. Jack and Audrey was a nice change of pace and its nice to see Jack's gentler side, even if it was very foreboding. Will that happiness be shattered in some way by the finale?

So many questions though. What has Bierko got planned? Where will Jack go when he finds out the tapes obviously been tampered with? Will Henderson add much more? Will the group above Logan be revieled? Kim was singned up for four episodes, will she return? What of Heller now? Now that Aaron's coming back, who knows in what form, will the last missing character, Wayne return?

Exciting...but fustrating at the same time.

Jack manages to land the plane before the president can give an order to shoot the plane down. Jack escapes with the recording and heads to CTU, only to have it erased by yet another 'evil' and already annoying officer, Miles.

The sequence with Jack trying to land the plane was definitely the high point of the episode. When the President begins to consider suicide, things get even more heated up. Of course, there just had to be another 'mole' at CTU to keep the show running a few more episodes.

By having Miles intervene they just stretched a plot that should have ended by now. But who knows, maybe this way the writers can have Jack Bauer shoot the President in the face. That would be true patriotism.

Jack kisses the Oddity s knee and we all must watch.

This series has gone from brilliant to awful in one season, chiefly due to the producers handing over half the plotline to an actress (Kim Raver) whom I have liked in other things but who seems uncertain of whether Audrey is a sniveling brat or a brainless goof. The character hangs like a dead weight, dragging down the entire story with it. If this is the writer s idea of a female hero, no wonder they turn all the female characters into evil villains eventually. They have tried to kill off Chloe in the season s second half by sidelining her from the action -- one wonders if she will become the next smart (so therefore evil) female 24 character, thus confirming the end to this once-great show.

The only reason to watch the series at this point is Itzin and his masterful performance. There isnt enough Chloe anymore to make the rest of the show worthwhile.

Tick, tick, tick,...

Having let down my expectations, I find the episode was vintage 24. Heller is alive in ICU, Bierk\'s impending escape, Miles' treason all work together to spun a twist - at this late hour.

In the meantime, we have unanswered questions, who are the yuppies and what's their agenda, how they bought Logan, what happened to Pierce, Wayne. Looks like a lot to accomplish in 3 hours!

Be as it may, I enjoyed this episode for a few reasons:-
(a) Despite our knowing Jack will get off the plane, the show manages as usual to keep me at the edge of the seat. The landing is far-fetched, but hey, who cares?

(b) Audrey united with Jack and shared 5 minutes of tender moments. I just love to see 2 people who deserve one another getting what they deserve. I hope the writers don\'t decide to let Aundrey dies. The lady whats-her-name who arranged Bierko's transport may be a mole and may yet sneak in to kill Audrey like Sarah did Teri. Sometimes the writers keep pushing Jack to the edge too much!

WOW, a VERY good episode, and a good follow-up to the previous one. The last one got you to feel like you could see the end of the tunnel for CTU, but this one....

It was great to see Jack finally getting some result in the last episode. And we knew he was going to land safely (somewhat)+(with a bit of drama added to it obviously!) somewhere, in time for Logans people to nearly catch him.

And thats how it happened. But it happened in good style and drama... intense/exciting drama. Jack makes the scaredy cat pilot to land the plane on a freeway, (reminded me of this video I saw on the net about a plane landing on the freeway with its from wheels missing but it was supported by a four wheeler!). That whole "shoot it down before it lands", "locked on target, should I fire?" bit was great.

It felt good to have Logan undr pressure like that, 'cause he deserved it and I could see the end coming. It was only a matter of where the bullet was going to go thru: across the forehead or from the throat to the top of the head? And its good to see Miles being the s*ithead that he is and go to the rescue of the Prez!!!

That was good. Thats good writing. What Logan was going to do would have been the obvious thing to do for his country but if he could get away with it (which is going to be the case), then theres so much that can happen in the future. This could follow on to the next 2 seasons.

The following season could go into who the secret group are that are working with/using Logan.

And what Miles does is even better. We hated him before, now we hate him even more. Now the recording is deleted, whats going to happen. Didn't Jack make a backup? Why not, was he uinde THAT much pressure? or better yet... Anderson could have another recording somewhere, OR does what Jack had, the REAL recording? Could Anderson have kept/hidden the original one somewhere? (which I hope is the case).

And the imminent escape of Bierko. He's become a minor character as of the recent episodes. I hope he goes out with a BANG in the next one or the one after.

One most unbelievable (no really, it is UNbelievable!!) fact: how in the hell did Audrey's father - Heller - survive a fall like that. (shouts)It was like a F*CKIN MOUNTAIN he rode off of!!!!!

Alright he's a good character to have in the future but come one. I mean the main pilot only got one hit on the head and he was off on cuckoo land for the whole hour. Did anyone actully care about him just lying on the floor? No. They just left him there!!

Anyway that was just some minor moaning on my part!! ;) Cant wait till the next episode; where Jack will lose one more person by the end of the series. (I hope its not Chloe). Its probably going to be Audrey/Bill/Curtis... okay maybe not Curtis, 'cause they werent that close or anything.

Well, until next episode, make mine.... no wait thats a tag line from one of my other interests!!!!

More exciting than last weeks.

With Logan giving the order to shoot down the plane, Jack knows there is no other option but to force the co-pilot to land on the expressway. They touch down and nearly hit the overpass. I was hoping that they would have hit the overpass, just to make it more believable. The Marines are dispatched and Jack slips away and Curtis gets him out.

One of the high points of this episode for me was finding out that Heller is still alive and is expected to pull through. Miles though is a little biatch, siding with Logan.

Next week's previews show that one of my new favorite characters, Agent Pierce is still alive. I am also expecting Jack to give Miles a serious beating.

Great episode, preparing for things to come.

Loved this episode, it was really interesting and nerve racking especially when the plane landed. I was fearing for Chloe\'s life as soon as Jack put her to work on the recording, even though i HATE Miles, i\'m glad his disception left Chloe OK, hope she tazers him. I think the Heller coming back was a bit sudden but i felt that was added to amke the episode seem happier, so that we\'d all be worried because this is not the last episode and cannot end happily, and i\'m sure all technical people want that device that glows red and then destroys digital recordings... but oh well. Loved the ep still. Roll on next week.

Logan....don\'t put the gun away

You have to appreciate the constant intensity with 24. Just when you think all the insanity has come to an end, BAM! You get hit with another shock. Never did trust that Home Land Security Miles. If only he and Logan would both put guns to their heads. On a side note. Living in LA, I don\'t know that I have ever seen a passenger plane land on the 118 freeway. Excellent job Jack! Good thing you didn\'t pick the 405, there was sure to be issues with that freeway. On to next week. I have to wait yet again a whole week to see what happens next on \"24\"

Very tense and nail-biting. We discover the true colors of one unpopular character and the lengths to which another will go.

I thought this episode was very good at keeping the viwer hooked on the actions and reactions of many characters. Curtis' smooth talking of the Marine barricade in letting him and Jack pass was good, as was the actual escape from the Marine forces (although the CGI involved in the plane landing was pretty bad, but not Marwan-falling-off-a-building-bad). And how about Gregory Itzin's (President Logan) performance? I thought he stole the show in the last 15-20 minutes.

His quiet and humble early defeat at the hands of Bauer and CTU compounded by tears welling in his eyes as his own wife brought him down was expertly down by Itzin. Add to the fact that he considered suicide before being saved by the rat Miles (possibly the most hated character in 24 this side of Ryan Chappelle) and his knowledge of the recording, this episode showed how even the President would accept death before worldwide embrassment. But now with the recording possibly erased (by Miles), and Bierko back on the loose promising this isn't over, this will make for possibly the most exicting final three hours of 24 yet. I, for one, can't wait.

Jack proclaims to Audrey "It's over, everything's going to be okay."

Did anyone watching breathe during the first 15 minutes of the show??? Anyone?? It wasn't just me..I didn't think so. Great near crash as they landed the plane on the empty freeway.

The next time I need a ride, I'm calling Agent Curtis Manning. He almost pulled out a can of whup-a$$ on the Marines and got away with it. Just think how handy he'd be if you were pulled over for a speeding ticket :)

I thought Jack and Audrey were about to give in to temptation in the clinic. I believe it's these flashes of tenderness that add layers to Jack. It makes you believe that he would risk everything to save his former girlfriend's bratty teenage son, rather than seeing him as "collateral damage" as he did at the beginning of this season. Great writing and GREAT acting!

It's great to have confirmation that Aaron and Secretary Heller are alive! Depending on the identities of the "Bluetooth gang" Secretary Heller may end up being President Heller in the next three hours. If so, bump Aaron up to head of secret service, would ya?

Well going~What's the next?

it is not that exciting of the plane thing. After watching the preview of the ep21, i thought there would be a fighting in the air and jack would survive after a missile that misses the target... it is toooooo easy for them to make a emergency landing @.@
Anyway, jack survived and got back the CTU with the recording. it seemed that they almost hit the target... however, when i saw karen told miles the story, i was very nervous and worried about them, as well as when the Bierko got into the car... someone of the two would make some trouble for jacks, i know... miles obvious not a trustble guy...sigh, what is the next? i am wondering, for jacks without the recording.

This was really boring.

I don\\\'t know what to make of this season. Ever since the nerve gas threat ended, the plot has been very linear. They\\\'re just dragging things along here, and pretty much nothing happened. Is 24 the new Lost?

The whole plane thing was completely ridiculous. I hate when people, especially those connected with the show, still talk about how realistic the show is. It seems as though they need to take every premise from every action movie ever made and write it into one episode. This season has been a great improvment over the last one, but it certainly isn\\\'t the best, it\\\'s not even my second fave. I don\\\'t even know where it is on the totem pole right now. It certainly has had pockets of entertaining plot, but I can\\\'t even remember what I liked about it thus far. The only thing I really liked was the whole Logan bit where he was about to kill himself, and he talked to Martha.

The whole thing with the evidence that they\\\'ve been chasing for the last 4 hours getting destroyed has been done to death on this show. We all know that in the finale Jack will pull one more lead out of his a** and it will be resolved immediately. Maybe in future seasons they should be prepared for this, instead of hijacking a plane to get a recording, why not just interrogate some suspects a little more and they\\\'ll finally break.

The thrill of this episode of 24 may also have been cheapened for me after watching that amazing episode of Prison Break. I just have to say, I hope the finale is better than last year\\\'s mess.

Jack manages to land the plane on the freeway, forcing Logan to call of his attack. Logan resigned to failure, prepares to kill himself. Bierko returns but is he at all important anymore? www.lifereviewed.com

You can’t really go wrong with fighter jets. They are just way cool. The shadowy alliance of oil businessmen convince Logan that he must use Jack’s takeover of the plane as an excuse to order a military strike against it. Jack forces the pilot to do an emergency landing on the freeway and once the military sees the plane is entering a landing pattern, and not preparing to crash into buildings they suggest calling off the attack. Logan knows this is his only chance and almost loses control screaming for the plane to be shot down even though his pretext for doing so is clearly evaporating. “kill all the civilians, Jack must die! Oh Mike, my trusted chief of staff, I forgot you were standing right next to me. Don’t mind that little outburst. Nothing to be suspicious about here…”
Once the plane is safely landed, Jack meets up with Cutis in an attempt to break through the military blockade. Of course the police immediately pull the black man over! Luckily Curtis is a badass and easily talks his way past the blockade. Curtis has to be the most underused character and makes me wish this wasn’t always the Jack Bauer variety hour. Jack and Curtis go back to CTU and hand over the recording to Cleo. For some reason they don’t bother to immediately make a duplicate of the recording. I mean CTU has been compromised by traitors and moles on average, three times a season, so call me crazy, but you might want to take a few seconds to insure nothing happens to your only piece of evidence! While Cleo is handling the evidence, Jack goes and visits Audrey and we learn that her father survived the car crash. Also, judging by the look in her eyes, she would probably marry Jack on the spot if he asked or at the very least have sex with him.
Back at the Presidential compound, Logan is resigned to his fate. He tries to make things right with Martha, but she is done with him. I guess she liked him better when he was weak and useless and she could boss him around. Silly Martha, nothing has changed, he is still the spineless man you knew and loved. Logan pours himself a glass of whisky and pulls out his giant golden gun. I wish I had a gun like that, that I could just leave on my desk and stoke anytime I had a rough day at the office. Probably scare the crap out of my roommate, but there is nothing healthier than sitting in the dark, drinking alone, contemplating your failures, while stroking a gun. Right before Logan can do us all a favor, he gets a call from CTU. Ass kisser extraordinaire, Miles has decided to help the President by destroying the evidence against him. The smile that went across Logan’s face was priceless.

Parting Thoughts: Why do people always help bad guys? You know they have to cover up their tracks and you are just going to be a loose end that ends up getting killed.
www.lifereviewed.com

Overall, this episode is an improvement over the previous installment, but it still falls prey to the usual pitfalls. Manny Coto tries to ensure that characters take action in accordance with their psychology, but in two key instances, plot demands deter

The previous episode was the first slow patch since the final third of the season began, so the writers needed to make a move in the first act to bring things back on track. The right place to start is the kind of positioning and maneuvering that marked the episodes since the revelations about Logan. Karen remains in a precarious position, and as expected, Heller survived his attempt at escape. Curtis is back in action, even as Logan moves to take down the plane that Jack has commandeered.

It still doesn’t make sense for Jack to hold onto the recording without ensuring that another copy can be made. Chloe is right there online; for that matter, why not have Karen record it at CTU, so she has the information she needs to justify her actions? The answer is rather plain: by keeping the sole copy in Jack’s hands, the writers have an easier time maintaining the tension, despite the illogic of it all.

Logan’s allies contrive an excuse to shoot down the plane, and since Novick gets involved as Chief of Staff (ostensibly to legitimize Logan’s rationale), it becomes an argument regarding the logic of Jack’s supposed treason. If Novick wasn’t suspicious before, he certainly has reason now. With Karen and Bill openly working to support Jack (without explaining anything to anyone, which just leaves a huge opening for Miles), it becomes a race against time.

Landing the plane on an interstate is hardly a shock, but the timing issues lend it a desperation that makes it a lot more fun. The landing is a blast, especially since it proves to expose a bit of Logan’s true nature. When Jack manages to hit the ground running (without smashing into much in the process), it’s not hard to believe that he has a chance. Everything is happening so fast that his escape, while as improbable as the plane’s safe landing, seems inevitable.

Once Karen makes the unfortunate choice of trusting Miles, and since he’s an opportunist, there’s little doubt that he’ll be at the center of trouble when it comes. Bierko’s return to the plot is a lot more interesting, however. There was reason to believe he was out of the picture for good, but this episode drops him right back into the position he never should have left! Bierko is far more compelling as a villain than Henderson, Logan, or that annoying oil magnate.

One of the better scenes of the episode comes right after Novick’s realization that something has escaped his notice. Logan recognizes that his gambit is nearly over, and he can’t face his allies with failure on his lips. He sits in the darkness, letting his phone ring, a look of resignation in his eyes. It’s a momentary return of the dignified weakness of his earlier portrayal. It lasts only a moment, but it’s a strong moment, and it presages his decision to come.

Jack finally hands over the recording upon his return to CTU, and he gets a reunion with Audrey, who has shown a remarkable strength of late. Audrey was one of the weakest characters of the fourth season, so it’s good to see her take a better turn this time around. Of course, when Jack seems to relax, thinking the game is done, a feeling of dread descends. Jack has been forced to accept so much loss in the past 21 hours, and there’s no reason to believe it will end with so much time left to go.

The final act pays off a number of suspicions, one after the other. Logan reinforces his primary personality trait. When everything seems lost and there are no options left on the board, Logan is more willing to kill himself than face judgment. He seems resigned to the fact that no options will present themselves legally. Once an option does appear, however, Logan happily embraces it, even though he can’t be sure where it will lead.

Miles’ betrayal was telegraphed to the hilt, but instead of seeming too easy, it feels like the natural progression of his character’s involvement in the story. There are no illusions in that assessment; the writers didn’t plan this moment, anymore than they planned out the season. But Miles does act in accordance with his character, which in turn serves the needs of the story.

Unfortunately, while Logan and Miles act in character and make choices that make sense for them, Chloe somehow does something completely out of character. It’s the same mistake that Jack made, and it’s all about serving the plot. The first thing Chloe should have done was make a copy of the recording. CTU had to have the technology on hand! That would have made it impossible, however, for Miles to destroy the recording, and that would have eliminated the intended plot twist. And so a strong final act, with character driving plot for once, is undermined in the very last moments.

This final act is, in a nutshell, a symptom of the problems with “24” in recent seasons. Characters are only allowed to act in accordance with their personality and motivation so long as it serves the plot. Once the plot needs them to act in some other fashion, well, it’s not even a question. And that’s simply not good writing, even if it keeps the tension high and the audience riveted. Others shows manage to hit it out of the park with consistent characterization; would it really be asking so much for “24” to do the same?

Wow nice landing

Just another busy hour in Jack Bauers life. He avoids being shot down from a Jet Plane, helps land a plane on the freeway, escapes with the help of Curtis, and gets back to CTU with just enough time to spare, to get some intimate time with Audrey. Not bad for a days work, or yea and he isn't even supposed to be alive this day either. I'm not sure who is paying for him either, because the president wanted him on the job but now wants him dead. I will be back next week to see what else you can do Jack.

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